‘I didn’t do anything wrong’: Maori Davenport holds out hope to play again this season

Why did it take 91 days for Charles Henderson star and 6-foot-4 Rutgers women's basketball signee Maori Davenport to reimburse USA Basketball for paying her to play for Team USA last summer?

That 91-day delay has emerged as a major talking point in the AHSAA’s suspention of the Miss Basketball candidate, as Maori’s online supporters have asserted she paid the money back immediately and detractors have pointed to the three-month delay as evidence of rule-breaking.

Tara Davenport, Maori's mother, provided a simple explanation: The Davenports returned the money --$857.20 -- as soon as they learned it was against the rules. USA Basketball sent the check Aug. 15, but didn't notify them it was against the rules until late November.

“Maybe they thought we didn’t tell anybody for 90 days. No,” Tara Davenport said. “I told as soon as I knew she could not have it. They called me on the 27th (of November). I sent that check back on the 28th.”

The payments are allowed under NCAA rules, but impermissible according to the AHSAA’s amateur rule. The AHSAA’s amateurism rule mandates a one-season suspension for breaking it, a punishment that effectively ended Maori Davenport's high school career.

“I really, really, really, want to play again,” Maori said, “but if that doesn’t happen, I’d really like for the Alabama High School Athletic Association to never let this happen to another student-athlete in Alabama.”

Tara Davenport again clarified and said the family held the reasonable assumption that USA Basketball would not send the stipend if it were against the AHSAA rules and jeopardize Davenport's high school eligibility. USA Basketball sent officials to the AHSAA's Central Board hearing to speak on Davenport's behalf, but that did little to help the teen's case.

"I thought -- and I'll be honest -- that since it was USA (Basketball), we were covered. That's the bottom line," Tara Davenport said. "That's why I didn't mention it to anybody."

Hardin also asserted that Tara Davenport, as an AHSAA certified coach, should have been aware of the rule. Tara Davenport countered that she's a middle-school coach with limited varsity experience and never heard any guidance on the governing body's amateurism rules when she attended the AHSAA's annual Summer Conference in Montgomery last summer.

Once the violation was reported, Tara Davenport said neither she nor her daughter were asked any questions during the appeals hearings with the district board or the Central Board.

"I really thought it'd be OK since we didn't knowingly take the check," Tara Davenport said. "That was the frustrating part, because of how severe the punishment was."

As Davenport's suspension gained a wider audience and the #FreeMaori hashtag gained traction online in the wake of Bilas' support, the Davenports said they have renewed hopes of the suspension being overturned.

Alabama Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) -- one of the state’s most powerful politicians -- even shared a letter Monday on Twitter in which he’s asking Savarese to re-open the case.

The Davenports are holding out hope Maori will be allowed to play again before the season ends.

“I’m still hopeful,” Tara Davenport said. “I can’t not be. Especially this past weekend, with all the national attention we got, I still am.”

Maori Davenport led Charles Henderson to the Class 5A state title last year, averaging 18.2 points, 12 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 5.1 blocks per game. As a junior, she helped Charles Henderson finish as 5A runner-up and collected 20 points, 25 rebounds and an AHSAA single-game record of 19 blocked shots in the championship game. She finished runner-up in Miss Basketball balloting last year and finished third in 2017.